Two new, federally funded health clinics have opened in Rockland County to offer medical and dental care to residents who might not otherwise be able to afford it.
One health center is on Perlman Drive in Spring Valley and the other on Twin Avenue, also in Spring Valley near the Monsey border.
The clinics, which are supported primarily by tax dollars, are open to everyone.
The Perlman Drive location has been open for several weeks. It is operated by Hudson River HealthCare, which also runs a clinic in Haverstraw.
The Twin Avenue center was expected to hold an opening celebration Sunday.
That clinic is being run by Refuah, a New Square-based health service, in partnership with Hudson River HealthCare.
Advocates who have long called for better access to care for people with no insurance or little money to pay doctors are celebrating the new resources.
“I’m hearing nothing but good things from the community,” said Juan Pablo Ramirez, co-chairman of the Rockland Immigration Coalition and president of the Jornaleros Humanitarian Project, a privately funded program for day laborers in Spring Valley.
Many people have started to use the Perlman Drive center, he said.
Before that center was opened, many Spring Valley residents traveled to Haverstraw to see a doctor or dentist at the clinic there.
The Twin Avenue facility has not yet started to treat patients.
Refuah director Chanie Sternberg declined to comment about the federally funded center.
It has 11 medical exam rooms, six dental rooms and six behavioral health rooms.
The new center is expected to treat 12,000 patients annually and will offer care for adults and children as well as dental care and women’s health care.
Refuah’s large medical center in New Square will remain open.
The clinics are required to serve anyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion or ability to pay.
Ramirez said the Rockland Immigration Coalition will monitor both centers to make sure they are open to all.
Refuah and Hudson River HealthCare were awarded $730,000 in federal funds to start the new centers.
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